1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to optical transmitters and receivers. More specifically, the present invention relates to optical transmitter and receivers that use microcode to calculate temperature-dependencies in operational parameters.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Computing and networking technology have transformed our world. As the amount of information communicated over networks has increased, high speed transmission has become ever more critical. Many high speed data transmission networks rely on optical transceivers and similar devices for facilitating transmission and reception of digital data embodied in the form of optical signals over optical fibers. Optical networks are thus found in a wide variety of high speed applications ranging from as modest as a small Local Area Network (LAN) to as grandiose as the backbone of the Internet.
Typically, data transmission in such networks is implemented by way of an optical transmitter (also referred to as an electro-optic transducer), such as a laser or Light Emitting Diode (LED). The electro-optic transducer emits light when current is passed through it, the intensity of the emitted light being a function of the current magnitude. Data reception is generally implemented by way of an optical receiver (also referred to as an optoelectronic transducer), an example of which is a photodiode. The optoelectronic transducer receives light and generates a current, the magnitude of the generated current being a function of the intensity of the received light.
Various other components are also employed by the optical transceiver to aid in the control of the optical transmit and receive components, as well as the processing of various data and other signals. For example, such optical transceivers typically include a driver (e.g., referred to as a “laser driver” when used to drive a laser signal) configured to control the operation of the optical transmitter in response to various control inputs. The optical transceiver also generally includes an amplifier (e.g., often referred to as a “post-amplifier”) configured to amplify the channel-attenuated received signal prior to further processing. A controller circuit (hereinafter referred to the “controller”) controls the operation of the laser driver and post-amplifier.
The operation of optical transceiver is susceptible to its operating environment. For example, temperature can change the operating characteristics of the optical transmitter itself. In particular, the wavelength output of a laser may drift from approximately 0.3 nanometers (nm) to approximately 0.6 nm for every one degree Celsius change in temperature. Since lasers generate heat during operation, this can have a significant effect upon the operation of the laser. Wavelength variations can cause crosstalk, where one transmission becomes confused with another. Furthermore, varying wavelengths due to varying laser temperature may cause different fiber attenuations. Accordingly, temperature has great influence over the proper operation of the optical transceiver.
Accordingly, it is important to compensate for the different operating temperatures. In order to do so, a temperature table is often kept correlating specific temperatures to specific values for an operating parameter. For example, temperature may be correlated to a laser bias current. By applying an appropriate laser bias current for a given temperature, the transmit power and wavelength can be kept less temperature dependent. Such temperature tables can be quite large, especially if the operating parameter is finely calibrated to temperature, or if the operating temperature range of the optical transceiver is large. However, the optical transceiver may have relatively limited memory resources. Accordingly, such temperature tables can occupy a significant amount of memory in the optical transceiver.
Therefore, what would therefore be advantageous are optical transceivers that are temperature compensated without requiring significant amounts of memory for temperature tables.